On many occasions in daily life people may find themselves in a situation in which they need to eat and drink while standing or walking. For example, that may happen both in the context of buffets, parties, etc., and in the case of food purchased from fast food outlets but consumed on the move. For example, a person may buy on one hand French fries, and on the other hand a cup or a small bottle containing a drink. This invention is mainly intended for the latter sector.
The problem, in these situations, is that since both hands are full (one with the food and the other with the drink) it is difficult to eat without dropping anything.
For that reason, over the years a series of solutions were developed which allow a person to use one hand to support both the food container and the drink receptacle.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,453,869 describes a complex support which may be used for supporting both a plate and a cup with one hand.
Another example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,097, in which the top of a tubular container for food is equipped with a holder in which a cup containing a drink can be inserted. The food is removed through an openable door at the bottom of the tubular container.
However, they are solutions which are completely unsuitable for the fast food sector, which requires simple, inexpensive objects which can be thrown away after they have been used.
The most interesting solutions for that sector are those in which the support for the drink itself forms the container for the food.
In a first type of such supports, the cup for the drink and the container for the food form a single body and operate in conjunction with each other. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,117 and US 2005/0133580, the container for the food is obtained using a hopper-shaped piece of cardboard which is coupled to the upper part of the cup for the drink, in such a way that the lid of the cup forms the bottom of the container for the food. However, in order to drink, the user must use the straw which passes through the lid of the cup, the food and the food container.
However, this first type of supports is not without disadvantages.
First, the fact that the bottom of the container for the food is formed by the lid of the cup, through which the straw is inserted, means that there is a risk of contaminating the drink with the food. For example, if there are French fries in the container, there is the risk that the salt or sauces may infiltrate the hole made for the straw and reach the drink.
Second, since the lid for the drink is always handled by the sales staff, the fact that it is subsequently placed in contact with the food means that there is a hygiene risk.
Furthermore, if the food is finished before the drink, with that type of support it is not realistically possible to keep only the cup, throwing the rest away, since the lid of the cup and the straw are dirty with food.
Similar problems, although partly reversed, are also found in the case of the solution in patent application US 2003/089725 in which the container for the food forms the lid of the cup.
In contrast, in a further prior art type, whose inventive concept also covers an embodiment of this invention, a single object on one hand forms the container for the food, and on the other hand forms the support for a cup/bottle containing a drink.
Examples of such solutions are described in patent applications US 2006/0261075, US 2004/0084458, US 2004/0040882, US 2006/0118453 and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,750.
In all of the prior art solutions, the support extends mainly horizontally and it comprises at least two portions positioned side by side. A first plate/tray-shaped portion is designed to contain the food, and a second portion forms a holder in which the cup can be inserted.
Although more convenient than the previous solutions, these too are not without disadvantages.
The main disadvantage is the fact that said type of supports is not easy to support. In fact, the user must hold the support by one edge, that is to say, with all of the weight projecting cantilever-style. Since the weights in question can easily exceed six/seven hundred grams, supporting them in that projecting fashion for a long period of time may be tiring, since the user must both hold the arm constantly bent at a right angle to keep the support horizontal, and keep gripping with his fingers.
Second, since the weight is off balance relative to the point where the container is gripped, there is always the risk of spilling either the food or the drink.
Third, this type of supports must usually be created by moulding plastic materials, with a negative impact on production costs.
Finally, it should be noticed that there are no prior art containers designed to support two separate receptacles, one containing the food and the other the drink (or both for food or both for a drink).